Ink motion



June 1958 E. w. -WORTHINGTON 2,838,

INK MOTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 9, 1955 INVENTOR fl a BYATTORNEY United States Patent Office INK MorroN Emory W. Worthington,York, Pa., assignor to R. Hoe & Co., Inc, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New York 1 Application September 9, 1955, Serial No. 533,476 12Claims, c1. ion-349 This invention relates to improvements in inkmotions for printing machines, and more particularly, to the inking andsupport of the form rollers of such ink motions.

In previously filed Harless application, Serial No.

489,655, filed-February.,2l, l955f or Ink Motions for of with arelatively small number of drum or roller elements or a relatively smallnumber of cuts. The elements which support and ink the form rollers inthe construction of that application may be driven rotatively andreciprocatively, as desired, and are provided with certain adjustments,but the arrangement is such as to present certain difficulties in thedrive gearing and, in particular, in the coordination of the adjustingmovements and the drive gear action.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved ink motionarrangement in which a maximum of inking efiiciency is obtained with avery simple gearing arrangement. y i

r A further object is to provide an ink motion in which with' a givenefliciency of ink distribution, the area of exposed ink on' the drum androller surfaces "is reduced to a minimum, thus facilitating the use ofrelatively -voltatilejinks whether employed with'or without an en-'closure. h v A still further'object is to provide an ink motion with animproved drive mechanism, in which the drive may be taken from a platecylinder gear while providing full,

required adjustment for all elements and without any interference withthe proper gear meshing action.

An ink motion embodying the invention in a preferred i with which isassociated the nozzle or ink rail 20 of an ink pump 21 and also a riderroller 22 for assisting in the distribution of ink on the drum 19. Whilean ink pump is shown as the mechanism for applying ink to the drum 19,the present invention is not concerned with the manner in which the inkis applied to the drum 19, i

and such application could also be achieved by any of the well known andconventional ink fountain and press Patented June 17, 1958 framedevices. In either case, the supply of ink to the drum 19 isintermittent, so that the ink is applied to its surface unevenly in acircumferential direction, and requires working both circumferentiallyand axially by the remaining elements of the ink motion to provide thedesired uniform film of ink on the form rollers for application to theplate cylinder.

In the construction shown, the form roller 11 is inked by drums 13 and14, which, in turn, are inked by the soft surfaced drum or roller 17,which takes ink from the first ink drum 19, and the second form roller12 is similarly inked by drums.15,-16, which, in turn, are inked by thesoft surfaced roller 18, which takes ink from the first ink drum 19. t

For a reason hereinafter explained more fully, the drums 13 to 16 arearranged with theiraxes substantially coplanar and moreover with theaxes of the end drums 13 and 16 substantially coplanar respectively withthe axes of form roller 11 and the plate cylinder 10, and with the axesof form roller 12 and plate cylinder 10. In view of the coplanarity ofaxes of plate cylinder, form rollers and ink drums of the set 13-16,full support against axial deflection of a form roller 11 or 12 isprovided, and the ink film distribution may be regulated very nicely byadjustment of drum 13 or 16 radially of the plate cylinder. A secondadjustment of these end rollers in the planes common to their axes andto the axes of the respective rollers 17, 18 is provided, and the formrollers and other elements may be adjusted in the usual way as desired.The adjustments involved are smallin any event and will not affect theessential geometric relationships commented on hereinafter.

Adjustable socket supports, as indicated in Fig. l, are provided forrollers 13, 15 and 17. Similar supports, not shown, are also providedfor rollers 12, 16 and 18, and serve to permit readjustment of theroller positions as required to compensate for any variation in thediameter of the soft surfaced rollers.

The rotative gear drive is of an exceptionally simple character,involving a plate cylinder drive gear 30, which drives anidleintermediate gear 31, the gear 31, in turn, drives the gears 32, 33fixed to the shafts of ink drums v14, 15, which, inturn, drive anidlegear 34. The drive for cylinder 19 and 'the ink pump 21 is obtained fromgear 34, through the train 35, 36, 37. i i

The shafts of drums 13-16, inclusive, are coplanar .or substantially soandi'are 'reciproca te'd axially by means of'asingl'e common cross shaft40 (Fig.3) carrying an eccentric 41 and strap 42 for each I drum orcylinder.

:E'ach's'trap42 has 'a fork 42'L'thatis pivotally connected form willnow'be described with reference .to the ac- C .companying drawing,an'dthe features forming the inven- "tion will then be'pointed out in theappended claims.

by"wri"st pins 43 to a housing "44 (end arrangement) or 451 (niiddlearrangement), as the" case "maybe. The middle housings: 45 connect to:the shafts of their respective drums by means of anti-friction thrustbearings 46, which permit rotation of the shafts while axiallyreciprocating the same, and the housings 44 similarly form an axiallydriving connection through anti-friction bearings 46, but theanti-friction bearings 46 in this case are carried in support members47, which are transversely slidable in the housings 44, so as to permita small crosswise adjustment of these housings without interfering withthe axially reciprocating drive motion. Shaft 40 is driven by acentrally located worm gear 48 carried on this shaft which, in turn, isdriven by a worm 49 carried by the shaft 50. The axial reciprocationdrive for drum 19 may be taken off the same worm, if desired, or offother drive components, but since it forms in itself no part of thepresent invention will not be described herein.

It will be observed that each form roller 11 or 12 is operativelyassociated with two vibrators 13, 14 or 15, 16, one of these vibratorsin each pair being rotatively gear driven and axially reciprocated buthaving no transverse adjustment and the other vibrator of each pair, 13or 16, being axially reciprocated and having transverse adjustment forits axial position, but having no rotative gear drive. In prior Harlessapplication, Serial No. 489,655, mentioned above, the anomalous effectof an improvement in ink distribution due to the elimination of positivegear drive or an intermediate roller is pointed out. In the presentcase, a further improvement is obtained by a combination, in the inkingof a single form roller, of ink supply through two paths, one of whichcontains the positively driven vibrator, and the other of which containsan axially reciprocated vibrator which has no positive rotative driveand is, hence, capable of instantaneously and automatically adjustingits rotative speed for equalizing differences in ink distribution asthey may occur.

It has been found that the arrangement of the present invention whenused in magazine presses having very severe requirements as to inkdistribution, will operate very successfully and with a minimum numberof ink drum elements. At the same time, the drive is very muchsimplified without sacrificing any required adjustments and withoutcausing any inequalities or disturbance of the meshing of the drivegears 31--37.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking aplate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers andcomprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the foursaid drums with their axes substantially coplanar, and means forreciprocating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaft 5substantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and areciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum foraxially reciprocating the same,

2, In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking aplate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers andcomprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the foursaid drums with their axes substantially coplanar, means forreciproeating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaftsubstantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and areciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum foraxially reciprocating the same, and gearing rotatively driving themiddle two of the said four drums, the other two drums being freelyrotatable.

3. The combination according to claim 2, in which the said gearingcomprises an intermediate gear for driving olf the plate cylinder gear,and gears meshing with the said intermediate gear and driving the saidmiddle two drums.

4. The combination according to claim 3, in which the said gears aresupported in axially fixed relation with respect to each other.

5,. The combination according to claim 2, in which the end drums of thesaid four drums are supported with their axes substantially coplanarwith the axes of their associated form rollers and the plate cylinder.

6. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inking aplate cylinder, means for supplying ink to the form rollers andcomprising for each form roller two drums, means for supporting the foursaid drums with their axes substantially coplanar, means forreciprocating the said drums axially comprising a rotary shaftsubstantially coplanar with the axes of the four said drums and areciprocating mechanism connecting the shaft to each said drum foraxially reciprocating the same, two softsurfaced rollers, each incontact with the two drums of a said pair, and gearing driving the saidsoft-surfaced rollers and middle two drums, the other two drums beingfreely rotatable and driven peripherally by the contacting rollers.

7. The combination according to claim 6, in which the said gearingcomprises an intermediate gear for driving off the plate cylinder gear,and gears meshing with the said intermediate gear and driving the saidmiddle two drums.

8. The combination according to claim 7, in which the said gears aresupported in axially fixed relation with respect to each other. 7

9. The combination according to claim 6, in which the end drums of thesaid four drums are supported with their axes substantially coplanarwith the axes of their associated form rollers and the plate cylinder.

10. The combination according to claim 7, comprising a further gearmeshing with the gears driving the said middle two drums, a wormrotatably fixed to the last said gear and a work wheel meshing therewithcarried by the said rotary shaft for driving the same.

11. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inkinga plate cylinder, a pair of axially reciprocable drums supplying ink toeach said form roller, a soft-surfaced roller contacting the two drumsof each said pair for supplying ink thereto, means axially reciprocatingall said drums, and gearing rotatively driving a drum of each said pair,the remaining two drums being freely rotat able and frictionally drivenby their contact with the softsurfaced roller and the form roller.

12. In a printing machine ink motion, a pair of form rollers for inkinga plate cylinder, a pair of axially reciprocable drums supplying ink toeach said form roller, a soft-surfaced roller contacting the two drumsof each said pair for supplying ink thereto, means axially reciprocatingall said drums, gearing for rotatively driving a drum of each said pairfrom a plate cylinder gear, the remaining two drums being freelyrotatable and frictionally driven by their contact with thesoft-surfaced roller and the form roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

